OF all the Americana that lays us low, nothing is more depressing than what we must suffer each fall as Election Day nears. Perhaps inspired

by the loss of an hour’s daylight, elections inspire good people to do bad and bad people to do their worst.

And that, incredibly enough, brings us to Lou Carnesecca. Everyone loves Lou Carnesecca, or at least is supposed to. Who doesn’t love Looie?

But the New York Senate race, a pathetic, two-party assault on the good senses without Carnesecca’s help, found the former St. John’s coach bowing to the most desperate, visceral and distasteful form of campaigning – even by current standards.

A tele-marketing campaign for the election of Rick Lazio found Italian-Americans targeted in a taped phone message. The message was delivered by Carnesecca. This is what he had to say:

“Hi, this is Lou Carnesecca. As a proud son of Italian immigrants and a former basketball coach, I know a few things about winners. Let me tell you about a close friend of mine and a good friend to all New Yorkers. I mean Rick Lazio.

“Rick is a grandson of Italian immigrants and he is a strong supporter of our culture and our heritage. On Election Day, let’s remember our shared values. Rick Lazio, he’s a real friend, a real New Yorker and a real winner.”

Geez. If only “Hi, this is Lou Carnesecca,” had been followed with, “Don’t forget to buckle your seat belt.”

Quite clearly, however, Carnesecca is of a public mind that voters of Italian descent owed Lazio their vote for one reason: Lazio’s an Italian-American.

The flip side of this equation would have Carnesecca urging Italian-Americans not to vote for candidates of any other ethnicity provided they’re opposed by an Italian-American. No issues to weigh, no political ideologies to consider. Just vote based solely on the candidates’ nationality.

The wrongheadedness of such campaigning by the legendary St. John’s basketball coach is exacerbated by the fact that few, if any, Italian-American voters had to be told or reminded that Lazio is of Italian stock. Those who were going to vote for Lazio based solely on their shared heritage didn’t need to be encouraged to do so by Lou Carnesecca.

More troubling is the fact that Carnesecca, while strongly suggesting that people vote based on candidates’ ethnicity, succeeded as a basketball coach through an objectivity that promoted human diversity.

Carnesecca didn’t consider the heritage or nationality of players in recruiting them, he recruited the best possible players for the positions – which is how people might best be encouraged to vote, which is how all Americans should be encouraged to vote.

Had Carnesecca recruited the way he urged people to vote he wouldn’t have had the professional success and legendary status to be invited to make such a public and vile political campaign suggestion.

Yet, Carnesecca lent his name and fame to urge people to vote based on shared ancestry, based on where someone’s parents and grandparents were born. That’s one of the ugliest, most insulting, most divisive and most un-American kinds of political sells.

Did he not consider that so many parents and grandparents fled to America from all over the world to escape oppression rooted in twisted, hateful and even murderous nationalism?

But the worst part of it all is that Lou Carnesecca’s better than this. A lot better. But as Election Day nears, every year, so, too, does a shortage of sunlight.

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Sometimes TV football telecasts come so close to grasping the subject matter that you feel as if you’re about to be witness, finally, to a major break-through . . . only to be let down, once again.

Sunday night’s Panthers-Rams ESPN telecast saw Trent Green hit Isaac Bruce with a second-half TD bomb. But the play was nullified by a holding call against OL Ryan Tucker.

ESPN then quickly – and remarkably – provided a superb replay of Tucker pulling down Panther DE Jay Williams as Williams began to steam toward Green in the Ram backfield.

At this point, Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann or Paul Maguire – the chatty chaps in ESPN’s booth – could’ve and should’ve made the point that if Tucker hadn’t held Williams Green likely wouldn’t have been able to make such an unfettered throw toward Bruce.

After all, at the very least, had Williams not been held, Green likely would’ve had to make with some quick footwork away from Williams in order to throw such a pass.

But, despite the fabulous replay, this point was never made, thus, by late in the fourth quarter a national audience was told that the Rams would’ve had the lead if not for a holding call on Ryan Tucker. Sigh.

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Tuesday’s Knicks at Bucks game wasn’t available to all area cable subscribers because, as a matter of Cablevision’s self-interest, it appeared on Cablevision-owned Metro.

But had all subscribers seen what they pay to see, they might’ve noticed that the Knicks, 103-89 road winners, played the kind of up-beat, quick-passing, hit-the-open-cutter basketball that would’ve been virtually impossible to play with Patrick Ewing on the Knicks and on the floor.

In fact, six Knicks scored 12 or more points, and only one of the nine Knicks who played – Travis Knight, who played just one minute – didn’t have an assist.

This is not to say the Knicks are better without Ewing. Clearly, the Knicks, with injuries and a roster subject to change, are not yet a title threat. But, Tuesday’s watch was certainly a lot better on the eyes and the basketball senses than watching three or more quarters of Ewing jogging up the floor then calling for – and receiving – the ball.

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I wonder how much better Dennis Miller would be – and be received – if ABC and Dennis Miller weren’t so eager to shove Dennis Miller down our throats?

Monday night football games – several of them very interesting football games – now serve as the backdrops and props in service to Miller’s presence.

Meanwhile, Miller’s best moments – his truly funny and even insightful moments – come when he ad libs off the game, and not when ABC’s forcing him on us like a talent agent at a casting call. Miller’s hit or miss, saturation-bombing approach would include many more hits than misses if ABC didn’t push him to the plate so often.

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The NFL, its partner TV networks and its commercial sponsors are getting just the kind of desensitized, wise-guy fan they market and deserve. Sunday in Detroit, as Lions’ QB Charlie Batch went down – and stayed down – with a concussion, thousands cheered.

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No matter how serious the Bobby Knight-to-CBS talks were, both parties said this week that all talks are off.

CBS, which allowed big-name appeal to supersede its conscience, – what else is new? – had reached out to Knight in September immediately after he was fired.

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Monday night football, the World Series and presidential elections now mean going to sleep without knowing who won.